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Central Notes: Hryckowian, Bäck, Toews

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The Dallas Stars announced a trio of roster moves this evening, recalling forward Justin Hryckowian from their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars, and sending down forward Harrison Scott and defenseman Trey Taylor. The moves aren’t a huge surprise, as Hryckowian had a very strong training camp and preseason. After such a successful rookie year in the AHL, in which Hryckowian won the AHL Rookie of the Year award with 60 points in 67 regular-season games and 18 points in 14 playoff games, it was expected that he’d find his way onto Dallas’ NHL roster in short order. He was originally reassigned to Texas two days ago, but that move was part of the Stars’ larger maneuvering to prepare a season-opening roster, and not an indication of where Hryckowian would begin his season.

In addition to Hryckowian’s recall, the Stars sent down Scott and Taylor. Both Scott and Taylor are relatively recent undrafted free agent signings the Stars made out of the NCAA, and both are entering their debut professional campaigns after late-season cameos in 2024-25. Scott, 25, is a 6’0 winger who scored 35 points in 38 games last season for the University of Maine, while Taylor, 23, is a 6’2 left-shot blueliner who had an impressive three-year run with Clarkson University. Taylor was twice named the ECAC’s top defensive defenseman and was a second-team All-American in 2025.

Other notes from the Central Division:

  • Part of the reason Hryckowian’s recall was necessary – other than Hryckowian’s own impressive training camp performance – is an injury suffered by incumbent Stars bottom-six forward Oskar Bäck. Sam Nestler of DLLS Sports relayed word from Stars coach Glen Gulutzan today, who said that Bäck would miss at least the club’s first two games and likely “another week or so.” Back scored 16 points in 73 games last season playing fourth-line minutes with second-unit penalty kill deployment. The Stars signed Adam Erne today which could help fill in for Bäck alongside the aforementioned recall of Hryckowian.
  • Winnipeg Jets head coach Scott Arniel told the media, including the Winnipeg News’ Mike McIntyre, that the team is hopeful center Jonathan Toews will be ready to play in the club’s first game of the season, which is on Thursday. The Jets placed Toews, who is dealing with an undisclosed injury, on IR with a retroactive placement date, meaning he is free to be activated at any point. It’s an important year for Toews and the Jets, as he’s currently pencilled in as the club’s second-line center after two seasons spent away from the game recovering from various health issues.

Metro Notes: Bouchard, Flyers Defense, Capitals Injuries

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The Edmonton Oilers signed Evan Bouchard just before the start of the new league year this past summer, locking their star defenseman up for the next four years on a $10.5MM AAV contract. It was a relatively expected outcome for the then-pending RFA, but Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that things were very close to getting a lot more interesting with Bouchard. Friedman wrote in his 32 Thoughts column today that “it’s believed the Hurricanes put together a one-year” offer sheet for Bouchard that would have come in “at a number higher than McDavid just signed for,” with the intent of the Hurricanes was to use that inflated one-year AAV to secure the player, and then “figure out an extension” afterwards.

Had the Oilers failed to re-sign Bouchard and that offer sheet proceeded, it would have been a repeat of sorts for both the Oilers and the Hurricanes. Carolina famously acquired center Jesperi Kotkaniemi using a similar tactic, signing the Finnish center from the Montreal Canadiens via an inflated-value one-year offer sheet. On the Oilers’ side, they have already lost players due to offer sheets in recent years, with Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway poached by the St. Louis Blues in the summer of 2024. But Bouchard, who is one of the league’s top offensive defensemen, would have been without a doubt the most notable offer sheet attempt since the Canadiens’ signing of Sebastian Aho in the summer of 2019, an offer Aho signed but was promptly matched by Carolina.

Other notes from the Metropolitan Division:

  • In his 32 Thoughts column, Friedman also revealed that the Philadelphia Flyers are “definitely checking what’s out there on defence,” though Friedman did caution that he doesn’t believe we’ll see much early-season trade action. Flyers defenseman Cam York is currently dealing with a day-to-day injury, but it’s possible the Flyers’ attempts to add a blueliner are unrelated to that injury. The team’s third pairing at this point is set to be staffed by Adam Ginning and Noah Juulsen, two players who struggled in the preseason, so it’s possible the lackluster training camps of the two players has motivated the club to seek external reinforcements.
  • Washington Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery told the media today, including The Hockey News’ Sammi Silber, that defensemen Matt Roy and Declan Chisholm have been cleared to play in the team’s season opener. The Capitals’ lineup from today’s practice indicates that Roy will resume his role playing next to Rasmus Sandin on the team’s third pairing, while Chisholm will remain a reserve alongside Vincent Iorio.

Alex Pietrangelo Will Not Play In 2025-26

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Oct. 7: The Golden Knights declared Pietrangelo out for the season when submitting their opening night roster, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. As such, they’ll be eligible for his full potential $8.8MM of LTIR relief, but he’s ineligible to return at any point – including the playoffs – under the league’s new LTIR rules. The out-for-season declaration, new for this season, requires approval from the league, player, and NHLPA.

Sep. 24: TSN’s Darren Dreger spoke on Pietrangelo’s comments on the network’s Insider Trading segment Tuesday and stated that the blueliner’s comments were met with “too much optimism.” Dreger said that those close to Pietrangelo noted how much effort it took for Pietrangelo to simply be able to play in games last season, a sentiment that echoes reporting surrounding fellow defenseman Shea Weber’s retirement from several years ago, which was also brought on by severe injury trouble.

Dreger said that Pietrangelo’s current recovery process is entirely focused on returning him to as much health as possible, “lifestyle-wise,” and that the defenseman “is not playing this year.” So, despite how things may have appeared based on Pietrangelo’s comments and the many reports that emerged yesterday, it does not seem at this stage that a return to the ice in 2025-26 is at all realistic.

Sep. 23: In June, the Vegas Golden Knights announced that star defenseman Alex Pietrangelo was dealing with significant injury issues, to the point that Pietrangelo himself stated that the “likelihood is low that my body will recover to the standard required to play” hockey again. But today, ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski reported that Pietrangelo elected not to undergo surgery to repair his lingering hip issue and is instead continuing a rehab program that has thus far “given him positive results.”

Wyshynski added that, despite his earlier statement, Pietrangelo would not rule out the possibility of potentially returning to play. Pietrangelo said, “Nothing is really concrete. I’m just going to continue to take it day-by-day and see where it goes,” which, while far from a confirmation that he’s looking to return to the ice, sounds considerably different from earlier this summer, when he appeared to rule out a return to play.

This past summer, it appeared Pietrangelo’s situation would be similar to that of recently-traded netminder Carey Price, whose knee issues forced a premature end to his playing career. Pietrangelo would not be the first NHL star to prioritize his long-term health over pushing for a return to the game, but today’s news indicates that he might be headed in a different direction than Price.

Should Pietrangelo ultimately recover enough to return to NHL action, it would be a significant boost to the Golden Knights’ Stanley Cup hopes. Although there’s no telling at this stage to what extent the injury has sapped Pietrangelo’s playing abilities, his return would nonetheless add a blueliner with an elite résumé back into the Vegas lineup. The 35-year-old has been a number-one defenseman on two Stanley Cup-winning teams, and he has finished a season in the top five in Norris Trophy voting three times.

Pietrangelo has nearly 1,100 games of regular-season experience and has skated in 149 postseason contests. Even if his abilities are diminished compared to where they were when he was fully healthy, he’d still most likely be a highly valuable NHL contributor.

Financially, the picture becomes a little cloudier should Pietrangelo return. His $8.8MM cap hit would not, at this moment, fit into the team’s financial structure in a way that would allow them to remain cap-compliant. And with the NHL now enforcing the salary cap in the postseason, the pathway for making a potential Pietrangelo return work on the team’s balance sheet is now all the more complex.

Today’s news isn’t Pietrangelo announcing a return to play; of course, it’s just him changing his tune slightly to leave the door open for a potential return. Accordingly, since his hypothetical return is far from imminent, at the very least, Vegas’ hockey operations department will have ample time to figure out how to make it all fit.

But stepping away from the finer details of a potential Pietrangelo return, today’s news is undoubtedly a positive one for not just the Golden Knights, but hockey in general. Pietrangelo has been one of the most consistent, widely respected figures of the game’s current era. To see him hang up his skates prematurely due to injury would be an unfortunate way to end the career of one of this generation’s finest defensemen.

Photos courtesy of Gary A. Vasquez – Imagn Images

Snapshots: York, Chara, Warf

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The Philadelphia Flyers will be without Cam York to open their season, as the team announced he will begin the season on injured reserve. PHLY’s Charlie O’Connor reports York “has a lower-body issue” and while the Flyers see it as a day-to-day injury, York’s ailment has kept defenseman Dennis Gilbert on their season-opening roster. Gilbert was placed on waivers on Oct. 4 and cleared, but will now avoid reassignment back to the AHL while York recovers.

Remaining on the NHL roster despite clearing waivers has a negligible effect on Gilbert’s earnings. As he’s signed to a one-way contract, he’s owed his $850K salary regardless of which level he plays at. With that said, NHL players’ earnings are subject to escrow, while AHL players’ are not, meaning staying on the roster may actually (technically) cost Gilbert a marginal amount of money compared to what he would pocket if he was reassigned to the AHL. There are other factors to consider, such as pension credit received for every 20 games spent on an NHL roster and the additional practice time he’ll have to impress NHL coaches, that make this a valuable opportunity for Gilbert, even if it does come at the unfortunate cost of a day-to-day injury to York.

Some other notes from around the NHL:

  • The Boston Bruins announced today that former captain and Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Zdeno Chara will see his number retired and raised to the rafters of TD Garden this season. Chara ranks third all-time in scoring by a Bruins defenseman, behind only legendary blueliners Bobby Orr and Ray Bourque. “Big Z” won the Norris Trophy in 2008-09 and also played for the New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, and Washington Capitals across his 1,680-game NHL career.
  • The Carolina Hurricanes announced today that team president Doug Warf has resigned after a little over one year in his position. Warf, who oversaw all business operations for the Hurricanes and their arena, Lenovo Center, was officially announced as the team’s president in July of last year. Warf re-joined the Hurricanes in that post after previously working for the team from 2000-2017, according to the team’s press release. Regarding the news, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reported that Warf’s resignation can be traced to “a difference in alignment” between himself and team owner Tom Dundon.

Lightning’s Scott Sabourin Suspended Four Games, J.J. Moser Suspended Two Games

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10/6/25 5:35 PM: The NHL has also issued punishments to the Lightning organization and Lightning head coach Jon Cooper “for their actions culminating in the events” of Saturday’s contest, according to an official announcement.

The Lightning have been fined $100K, while Cooper himself has been fined $25K. Both fines were levied by the NHL’s Hockey Operations department and will go to charitable causes.

10/6/25 5:15 PM: Tampa Bay Lightning forward Scott Sabourin has been suspended four games for roughing committed against Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced today.

The play in question happened early in the Lightning’s preseason game Saturday in Florida. Sabourin delivered a clean check on Ekblad behind the net, but then after the check he, as the Department of Player Safety termed it in their ruling video, “delivered an un-gloved sucker punch to the head” of Ekblad. They noted a few key aspects that prompted such a significant suspension, which has been levied on top of the game misconduct Sabourin was already assessed.

Firstly, the Department of Player Safety noted that Sabourin delivered “a forceful, ungloved punch directly to Ekblad’s face.” They also took into account the previous history between the two clubs and the situation of the game to come to the conclusion that Sabourin’s actions were “intentional” and done “for the purpose of retribution and message-sending.”

Sabourin’s suspension is notable because he is not a full-time NHL player. Since the start of the 2022-23 season, Sabourin has played in just four NHL games and was originally reassigned to the Lightning’s AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, on Oct. 1 before he was called up on Oct. 4 for the team’s preseason contest against the Panthers.

Since he is likely to be back in Syracuse to begin the season – and for an indefinite period moving forward – this suspension will likely not have a short-term impact on Sabourin’s ability to dress for games. This four-game suspension does not apply in the AHL, meaning Sabourin must be on an NHL roster for four games in order for the suspension to be considered served.

Seeing as Sabourin has just four NHL games played over the last two seasons, it’s entirely possible that the 33-year-old AHL bruiser could face a long wait until his NHL game.

This is not Sabourin’s first time receiving supplemental discipline in his professional career, though it is his first NHL suspension. In 2020, he was fined $1.9K for unsportsmanlike conduct when he squirted an opposing player with a water bottle from the bench. In the AHL, Sabourin also has some disciplinary history: he was assessed an automatic one-game suspension after receiving an instigator penalty in 2017, suspended one game in 2021, and three games in 2024.

Sabourin is not the only Lightning player who is set to miss time due to conduct stemming from the same game. Defenseman J.J. Moser also had a hearing today with the Department of Player Safety, and was levied a two-game suspension. In Moser’s case, he has earned this suspension for boarding Panthers forward Jesper Boqvist. He was, like Sabourin, also assessed a game misconduct for the play.

The play in question occurred late in the first period, when Boqvist went to retrieve a puck in the offensive zone. Moser closed in on the Panthers forward and delivered a hit that the Department of Player Safety said drove “a defenseless Boqvist dangerously into the wall.”

The Department noted that the play was not a result of a sudden movement by Boqvist that changed a would-be legal body check into an illegal one – instead they noted that there was a level of intentionality from Moser in the play. Moser has not been fined or suspended thusfar in his NHL career, which alongside the nature of the play itself may have contributed in his lighter suspension compared to Sabourin.

Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

Minor Transactions: 10/6/25

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The deadline for NHL clubs to ready their opening-night rosters has passed, and as a result there has been quite a bit of roster maneuvering around the NHL today. While some moves are more notable, such as the handful of waiver claims made today, there are a few moves that are more minor, such as expected reassignments or previously reported injuries being made official with IR placements. We’ll keep track of those moves here:

  • In preparing their final opening-night roster that can be viewed here, the Utah Mammoth reassigned a pair of first-round picks. 2023 12th overall pick Daniil But was reassigned to the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners, which is where he will begin his North American professional career. Meanwhile 2024 sixth overall pick Tij Iginla was loaned back to his WHL team, the Kelowna Rockets. But is a big 6’5 winger whose KHL teammate (and fellow 2023 first-rounder) Dmitry Simashev made the Utah roster today, and it’s expected that But won’t be in the AHL for too long. As for Iginla, this season is an opportunity for him to get his development back on track after unfortunate injury luck derailed his 2024-25 campaign.
  • The Ottawa Senators reassigned the players they placed on waivers Sunday to their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators. Making up the group is Jan Jenik, Hayden Hodgson, Arthur Kaliyev, Mads Sogaard, and Lassi Thomson. 2024 seventh-overall pick Carter Yakemchuk was reassigned to Belleville, his Sept. 29 birthdate making him eligible to play in the AHL despite being a 2024 draft pick. In addition to those reassignments, the Senators placed Drake Batherson and Tyler Kleven on IR to further prepare their final roster. Batherson has been out since Sept. 24 with an upper-body injury on a projected two-week recovery timeline, while Kleven has been out since Sept. 21 with an undisclosed injury.
  • The Minnesota Wild reassigned forward Tyler Pitlick and netminder Cal Petersen to their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, today. Both players were placed on waivers yesterday and went unclaimed. Pitlick, 33, is a veteran of over 400 NHL games and scored 46 points in 59 AHL games last season for the Hartford Wolf Pack – he’ll likely be among the first players in line for a call-up in Iowa. Petersen, 30, was once a $5MM-a-year netminder for the Los Angeles Kings but did not play in the NHL in 2024-25. Signed to a one-year, $775K one-way deal, he’ll be the team’s organizational number-three netminder.
  • The Calgary Flames placed forwards Jonathan Huberdeau and Martin Pospisil on injured reserve today as part of their roster preparations, and also called up 2023 first-rounder Samuel Honzek. Huberdeau left Calgary’s preseason game at the start of the month with an undisclosed injury, and will miss at least the team’s season opener. Pospisil also exited the Flames’ Oct. 1 preseason game with an undisclosed injury, and will also miss the team’s first game at minimum. As a result, Honzek, 20, gets a spot on the roster in their absence. The 6’5 Slovak forward played his first season of North American pro hockey in 2024-25, scoring 21 points in 52 AHL games and also skating in five NHL contests.
  • The New York Rangers reassigned forward Brett Berard to AHL Hartford as part of their season-opening roster moves. Despite a solid training camp and preseason, the 23-year-old lost the battle for a middle-six role in New York to veteran Conor Sheary, a longtime favorite of first-year coach Mike Sullivan. The Rangers signed Sheary to a one-year deal earlier today. It’s a disappointing outcome for Berard, who looked to be making a real push for full-time NHL status last season. He skated in a career-high 35 NHL games, scoring 10 points to go alongside the 23 points he scored in 30 AHL contests.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs reassigned defenseman Ben Danford to the OHL’s Oshawa Generals as part of their season-opening roster preparations. Danford missed Maple Leafs training camp and preseason with a concussion, but has since been cleared for contact, paving the way for this reassignment. It’s the expected move for the 2024 31st overall pick, who is entering his fourth season of OHL duty. Danford scored 25 points in 61 games in Oshawa last season and will resume his post as one of the OHL’s top shutdown blueliners for 2025-26.
  • The Colorado Avalanche announced several roster moves to go alongside their announcement of an initial roster: Keaton Middleton, who cleared waivers today, has been reassigned to AHL Colorado, alongside Matthew Stienburg. Meanwhile Ronnie Attard, Sean Behrens, Jacob MacDonald, Logan O’Connor, and Nikita Prishchepov have been designated injured non-roster. Ilya Solovyov, who the team claimed off of waivers from the Calgary Flames last week, was also designated non-roster but he is not injured. Solovyov’s placement is due to the fact that, per the Denver Post’s Corey Masisiak, his visa to allow him to play in the United States has not yet been finalized. It should be noted that this is not an abnormal scenario for a player involved in a cross-border transaction between NHL clubs.
  • As part of their own season-opening roster moves, the Nashville Predators placed defenseman Nic Hague and forward Matthew Wood on injured reserve. Hague is out with an upper-body injury on a week-to-week timeline, while Wood is also considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury.

Braeden Cootes Makes Canucks’ Opening Night Roster

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Oct. 6th: According to commentator John Shannon, Cootes has indeed cracked Vancouver’s opening night roster. In a somewhat wacky comparison, Cootes will become the first 18-year-old to play for the Canucks since Petr Nedvěd in 1990, who was also selected in the first round and played in the WHL for the Seattle Thunderbirds.

Sep. 30th: 2025 15th-overall pick Braeden Cootes is “in the driver’s seat” to make the Vancouver Canucks’ season-opening roster, reports The Athletic’s Thomas Drance. Per Drance, Cootes’ performance this preseason and training camp has been so impressive that internally, the “conversation around him is beginning to shift materially” amongst Canucks decision-makers.

According to Drance, the team’s “internal discussion” around Cootes has shifted from whether Cootes should get early-season NHL games (a prospect Drance called “increasingly likely”) to whether he can sustain this high level all year or is best served returning to the WHL.

For those not paying close attention to Canucks training camp, this is likely to be a surprising development, as most 18-year-olds who make it onto NHL rosters are players who were one of the draft’s top handful of picks.

But keeping Cootes on their opening-night roster would not be a move without precedent. The Philadelphia Flyers played 2024 13th overall pick Jett Luchanko in four NHL games to start their 2024-25 season, and 2023 13th pick Zach Benson ended up making the Buffalo Sabres roster on a full-time basis.

There are actually quite a few parallels between Luchanko’s situation and Cootes’.

Similar to Cootes, Luchanko entered his first professional training camp as a long-shot possibility to make it onto the NHL roster, but his complete play and pro-ready qualities left the Philadelphia Flyers coaching staff extremely impressed. Rocky Thompson, then a member of the Flyers’ coaching staff, said at the time that Luchanko’s performance “opened [the] eyes” of the organization.

Cootes has generated similar sentiments in Vancouver. Although the Canucks have not been as public with their praise for Cootes as the Flyers were with Luchanko, Drance reports that the Canucks have been pleasantly surprised by just how “complete” and “mature” Cootes is – “down to his positioning and work in the faceoff circle.”

Beyond receiving similar-sounding praise at the same stage of camp one year apart, Luchanko is also a player who had a similar overall profile to Cootes. They both stand around six feet tall and 180 pounds, both registered just above point-per-game scoring rates in their draft-year CHL campaigns, and both are widely credited with having clear pro-ready qualities that are at the center of each player’s game.

As a result, it appears that Cootes is following Luchanko’s path and is likely to see NHL action despite being just 18 years old and not one of the draft’s top picks. The Canucks recently learned that forward Nils Hoglander will miss significant time due to injury, a development that only makes it likelier that the Canucks have room on their season-opening roster to keep Cootes.

Despite all of this, it remains the likeliest possibility that in a few months’ time, Cootes is back playing with his junior team. Playing in the NHL at 18 is such a difficult task, it’s only the best of the best who typically manage to hold onto a lineup spot for a full season.

While Cootes is undoubtedly an impressive, promising young player, his résumé is not at the level of the recent players who have been full-time NHL players at 18. Benson was one of the WHL’s most complete players with a lethal offensive arsenal, and Connor Bedard, Macklin Celebrini, Leo Carlsson, and Adam Fantilli were each top picks who had overwhelmingly proven themselves to be beyond their previous levels of competition. For as impressive as Cootes has been this preseason, most evaluators don’t place him at that level.

Even so, forcing his way into the roster conversation at 18 is a significant positive for both Cootes and Vancouver, and it reinforces projections of him developing into the kind of do-it-all middle-six center NHL teams routinely covet.

Photo courtesy of Perry Nelson-Imagn Images

Training Camp Cuts: 10/5/25

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With final rosters due Monday evening, teams are down to their final few rounds of cuts. We’re keeping tabs on all of today’s demotions here as clubs near their final 23-man roster to open the season:

Chicago Blackhawks (per team announcement)

D Nolan Allan (to AHL Rockford)
F Ryan Greene (to AHL Rockford)
D Taige Harding (to AHL Rockford)
F Gavin Hayes (to AHL Rockford)
D Kevin Korchinski (to AHL Rockford)
F Paul Ludwinski (to AHL Rockford)
F Martin Misiak (to AHL Rockford)
F Oliver Moore (to AHL Rockford)
F Samuel Savoie (to AHL Rockford)
F Aidan Thompson (to AHL Rockford)
F Dominic Toninato (to AHL Rockford)
D Cavan Fitzgerald (released from PTO to AHL Rockford)
F Brett Seney (released from PTO to AHL Rockford)
G Mitchell Weeks (released from PTO to AHL Rockford)
D Ty Henry (to OHL Erie)

Dallas Stars (per team announcement)

F Justin Hryckowian (to AHL Texas)
F Cameron Hughes (to AHL Texas)
F Arttu Hyry (to AHL Texas)
D Vladislav Kolyachonok (to AHL Texas)

Minnesota Wild (per team announcement)

F Hunter Haight (to AHL Iowa)
D Matt Kiersted (to AHL Iowa)

Montreal Canadiens (per team announcement)

F Owen Beck (to AHL Laval)
F Florian Xhekaj (to AHL Laval)
D Adam Engstrom (to AHL Laval)

New Jersey Devils (per team announcement)

D Ethan Edwards (to AHL Utica)
D Mikael Diotte (to AHL Utica)
D Topias Vilen (to AHL Utica)

Ottawa Senators (per team announcement)

F Stephen Halliday (to AHL Belleville)

San Jose Sharks (per team announcement)

F Cameron Lund (to AHL San Jose)
F Quentin Musty (to AHL San Jose)
F Colin White (to AHL San Jose)

Seattle Kraken (per team announcement)

F Oscar Fisker Molgaard (to AHL Coachella)
F Ville Ottavainen ( to AHL Coachella)

St. Louis Blues (per team announcement)

F Aleksanteri Kaskimaki (to AHL Springfield)
F Dalibor Dvorsky (to AHL Springfield)
F Otto Stenberg (to AHL Springfield)
D Leo Loof (to AHL Springfield)
D Theo Lindstein (to AHL Springfield)

Vancouver Canucks (per team announcement)

D Victor Mancini (to AHL Abbotsford)
D Tom Willander (to AHL Abbotsford)

Snapshots: Toews, Drouin, O’Regan

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Jonathan Toews was at Winnipeg Jets practice today, reports Jets team reporter Mitchell Clinton. Toews had been out on a day-to-day timeline since leaving Tuesday’s preseason game against the Minnesota Wild with an injury. While it is not immediately clear if Toews will be fully healthy for the Jets’ preseason opener, this is nonetheless a positive development for both the Jets and Toews himself.

Toews’ health is one of the most significant storylines to watch in Winnipeg this season, as the three-time Stanley Cup champion is attempting to return to full-time NHL action after missing both 2023-24 and 2024-25 due to the lingering effects of long COVID and Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome. Toews was a valuable player when he was last in the NHL, scoring 37 points in 2021-22 and 31 points (in 53 games) in 2022-23. The Jets have been searching for a steady second-line center to pencil in behind Mark Scheifele since the retirement of Bryan Little, and Toews will be the latest player to get a chance to prove he can handle the responsibility.

Other notes from around the hockey world:

  • Jonathan Drouin is back at New York Islanders practice after missing three practices due to illness, reports Newsday’s Andrew Gross. Drouin returns to full health at an important time as the Islanders prepare to finalize their roster and enter the 2025-26 regular season. Drouin signed a two-year, $4MM AAV contract this past summer to bring him to Long Island, a solid reward for the player after he revitalized his career as a member of the Colorado Avalanche. Drouin, who scored 37 points in 43 games last season, is currently pencilled into the Islanders’ top line alongside Bo Horvat and fellow offseason addition (and fellow former Montreal Canadien) Emil Heineman.
  • Former San Jose Sharks forward Danny O’Regan has found a place to play for 2025-26. The 31-year-old former AHL Rookie of the Year and Boston University star has signed a one-year contract with the DEL’s Schwenningen Wild Wings. The Wild Wings’ translated press release indicates that the team made the signing in part as a response to the fact that offseason import signing Tim Gettinger is facing an extended absence due to injury. While O’Regan won’t provide the physicality Gettinger brings, he does bring more offensive touch – he scored a healthy 27 points in 65 KHL games last season and has a superior scoring record in the AHL when compared to Gettinger.

Waivers: 10/5/25

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With season-opening rosters due Monday evening, NHL clubs must place players on waivers today in order to be eligible to reassign them to the AHL in advance of tomorrow’s roster deadline. As a result, today features a significant number of waived players. All players from yesterday’s waivers cohort cleared except for Brandon Bussi, who was claimed by the Hurricanes. Today’s set of players comes courtesy of Frank Seravalli. Here is today’s waiver wire:

Boston Bruins

D Jonathan Aspirot
F Matej Blumel
G Michael DiPietro
F Alex Steeves

Buffalo Sabres

F Joshua Dunne

Carolina Hurricanes

G Cayden Primeau

Colorado Avalanche

D Jack Ahcan
D Keaton Middleton

Detroit Red Wings

D Erik Gustafsson
D Justin Holl

Edmonton Oilers

F Max Jones

Florida Panthers

F Jack Studnicka

Minnesota Wild

G Cal Petersen
F Tyler Pitlick

Montreal Canadiens

F Sammy Blais
G Kaapo Kahkonen

New Jersey Devils

D Calen Addison
G Nico Daws
F Jonathan Gruden
F Mike Hardman
F Nathan Legare

Ottawa Senators

F Arthur Kaliyev
F Hayden Hodgson
F Jan Jenik
F Olle Lycksell
D Lassi Thomson
G Mads Sogaard

Philadelphia Flyers

F Carl Grundstrom

San Jose Sharks

F Pavol Regenda

Seattle Kraken

F John Hayden

St. Louis Blues

G Colten Ellis
D Hunter Skinner

Tampa Bay Lightning

D Declan Carlile

Toronto Maple Leafs

D Matthew Benning
D Dakota Mermis
F Michael Pezzetta
D Henry Thrun

Utah Hockey Club

F Curtis Douglas

Vegas Golden Knights

F Jonas Rondbjerg

Winnipeg Jets

F Walker Duehr
D Ville Heinola

Washington Capitals

F Ethen Frank
G Clay Stevenson

As this is the “final” day of preseason waivers, there are a greater number of notable names in today’s waivers group than is normally expected. In Boston, Blumel and Steeves had received some compliments for their ability to provide an offensive spark early in training camp, but neither was able to make the final roster as competition ratcheted up a few gears. The most likely candidate to be claimed in Boston isn’t even Steeves or Blumel, it’s DiPietro, owner of a .927 save percentage in 40 AHL games last season. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that there is some interest around the league in DiPietro.

In Carolina, Primeau finds himself on waivers which is not entirely a surprise. For a more detailed breakdown of the Hurricanes’ situation at goalie, refer to our coverage of the team’s waiver claim today. In Detroit, two veteran defensemen with a combined 2025-26 cap hit of $5.4MM find themselves waived. Holl has struggled immensely as a Red Wing and is in the final year of his $3.4MM AAV deal, while Gustafsson scored just 18 points in 60 games in his debut season in Detroit, a notable decline from the 31 points he posted in 2023-24 and the 42 he managed in 2022-23.

With the Canadiens, the team’s reassignment of a handful of young forwards today could have signaled Blais would make the team, but his placement on waivers does counteract that. Since a reassignment of Blais would give the Canadiens just 13 forwards, seven defensemen, and two goalies on their active roster, it’s possible that the Canadiens are waiving Blais today to give them some roster flexibility to potentially find someone on the waiver wire tomorrow.

Daws is another netminder noted by Friedman as a potential candidate to be claimed, as the 24-year-old faced a very difficult task of trying to unseat veteran Jake Allen for the Devils’ backup role. Daws had just a .893 save percentage for AHL Utica last season but did show some flashes at the NHL level, to the tune of a .939 save percentage in six games.

In Ottawa, Lycksell could not translate a solid preseason into a roster spot, as the Senators have elected to keep up with what was likely their plan all along – to have Lycksell be one of the top scorers for AHL Belleville – and have kept Nick Cousins on their final roster over Lycksell. Ottawa also moved to waive Kaliyev, whose claim on an NHL job now appears to have slipped after three years as a regular NHLer in Los Angeles.

The Flyers chose to waive Grundstrom today after claiming him, indicating that their acquisition of the player today was more a matter of making the deal work (perhaps San Jose was especially interested in getting Grundstrom’s $1.85MM cap hit off its books) than it was adding the player to help lighten the pressure on its young players to fill bottom-six roles.

All of Toronto’s waived players have some NHL experience on their résumés, especially Benning (464 games) and Pezzetta (200 games). Benning spent more of last season in the AHL, while Pezzetta hasn’t played in the AHL since 2021-22, and was a steady spare forward and energy role player for the Canadiens from 2021 through early 2025.

In Winnipeg, Heinola is a former top prospect whose injuries and inability to earn the trust of the Jets’ coaching staff has thus far kept him out of the NHL. With his placement on waivers today, it appears that streak is set to continue. Friedman also noted that there is some interest in Capitals netminder Stevenson, a 26-year-old undrafted player who struggled in 2024-25 but was brilliant the year prior.

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